tsunami

In northern California near the Oregon border, a man who went to the coast to photograph the incoming wave was swept out to sea by the powerful surge, officials said. Coast Guard helicopters are searching for him near the mouth of the Klamath River, according to the Coast Guard. Four other men in Oregon were swept off a beach in Brookings, Ore. Two made it back to shore on their own and two others were rescued by emergency crews, the Coast Guard said.

The surge smashed boats and wreck docks in the California cities of Santa Cruza and Crescent City. The tsunami was strongest in Crescent City which was smacked with an 8-foot tall wave that destroyed the city's piers and sank boats.

via ABC News.